News quiz for week ending 4/17/09

Questions

1. Pirates from which African country were holding an American merchant ship captain hostage after they attacked his ship last week?a) Somaliab) Sudanc) Zimbabwed) Saudi Arabia

2. American ship captain Richard Phillips was rescued this week after:a) Secretary of State Hillary Clinton negotiated with the pirates for his releaseb) A British man-of-war attacked the port city that serves as the pirates’ safe havenc) U.S. Navy snipers shot and killed the piratesd) President Obama called the leader of the pirates and asked him to release Captain Phillips

3. After President Zardari of Pakistan gave in to the Taliban and signed a bill this week that imposes Islamic law in the Swat Valley region of Pakistan:a) the Taliban leaders agreed to leave the people in peace and ordered most of their fighters to leave the areab) the Taliban shaved their beards and denounced their practice of flogging women c) Osama bin Laden entered the region on a donkey and declared himself rulerd) thousands of Islamist militants came into the region and set up training camps to make it one of the main bases for Taliban fighters

4. Before the Taliban invaded the Swat Valley, it was known as:a) a breeding ground for terroristsb) a popular weekend getaway for well-to-do Pakistanisc) a destination for religious pilgrimsd) the “mosquito” state

5. In which former Soviet republic did protesters this week call for the resignation of their president Mikheil Saakashvili?a) Uzbekistanb) the Czech Republicc) Belarusd) Georgia

6. Critics who called for his resignation accuse President Saakashvili of all but which of the following? a) stealing government fundsb) making too many mistakes when Russia invaded last yearc) exerting pressure on the judiciary and the mediad) monopolizing power

7. Why did Americans hold rallies in towns and cities across the country on April 15th?a) to express their concern with excessive government spendingb) to ask the government to implement strict cap and trade regulations as a way to prevent global warmingc) to protest the wars in Iraq and Afghanistand) to ask that the federal government to raise their taxes

8. More than ______________ people attended rallies across the country on April 15th:a) 200b) 2,000c) 20,000d) 200,000

9. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a report to ____________________ on the dangers of Extremists to U.S. national securitya) law enforcement officials nationwideb) newspaper editors around the countryc) the United Nations Security Councild) the World Bank

10. In their report, DHS warns of the potential threat to national security from:a) radical jihadists whose goal is to destroy the U.S.b) Islamic extremists who aim to make Islam the dominant religion in every countryc) right-wing extremists including individuals dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigrationd) eco-terrorists and anarchists who oppose land development and big business